Something disturbing has been happening in the Orthodox world. White Nationalist language is infiltrating our public spaces. It’s happening in our synagogues, in our communities, in our schools and, of course, online. And those of us who see it are looking on in increasing horror. There was always some racism in our communities, of course;…
A new report, commissioned by the Trump Administration as part of its efforts to enact new restrictions on immigration, bends over backwards to selectively pick and choose cases in which immigrants who entered the country through the diversity visa lottery or other immigration programs were directly linked to terror plots. The unsubtle agenda of the…
A version of this article originally appeared on 972mag.com. As a social worker in south Tel Aviv working with African asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan, I have seen my fair share of racism and opposition from Israeli politicians and residents in these neighborhoods. Let’s be clear on one thing, south Tel Aviv is not…
I’ve gotten a lot of questions since I started introducing my opinions in these pages. Some have been good questions. Some have been difficult ones. And some I won’t even dignify with an answer. But the most common question I’ve received, and the one I feel compelled to discuss this Martin Luther King Day, is…
I will never forget the first time someone called me a racist. In the fourth grade, I got into a pushing match in the cafeteria with Umar, an African-American classmate, the cause of which I can no longer remember. The two of us were sent to the principal’s office, and when asked why he hit…
Ta-Nehisi Coates deleted his Twitter account Monday evening, and it may have been prompted by white nationalists. Even Richard Spencer — the face of American white nationalism — eventually piled on the debate over an essay criticizing Coates’ new book. Coates, a renowned public intellectual and a national correspondent for The Atlantic, was caught in…
Last week, election winners across the country broke glass ceilings and made history. Danica Roem became the first transgender person elected to a state legislature. Michelle De La Isla became the first Hispanic mayor of Topeka, Kansas. Ravi Bhalla, a Sikh man, was elected mayor in Hoboken, New Jersey. Sheila Oliver became the first Black…
When Rabbi Rigoberto Emmanuel Viñas took the helm of the aging Yonkers, New York, synagogue Lincoln Park Jewish Center 15 years ago, the hope was that the Cuban-born Orthodox Jew would breathe new life into the sleepy congregation. And over the following years the strategy seemed to work. Membership swelled, garnering acclaim from the media….
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